Letter claiming to have anthrax sent to Tallahassee DMV

Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee.com) -- A Florida Department of Motor Vehicles office building was evacuated Monday morning after a letter was found claiming to contain anthrax.

The letter was sent to the records department at the DMV located on Apalachee Parkway in Tallahassee.

Lt. Mike Bellamy of the Tallahassee Fire Department says at this time they don't know who the letter was sent to, but the letter claims it contained the deadly disease.

The building, which holds 1,500 people, was evacuated except for six employees who were in the room where the letter was discovered. They were eventually evaluated by Leon County EMS and cleared for released.

"Nobody has any signs or symptoms, everybody seems to be doing good," Bellamy said.

The letter was placed in a sealed container and transported by the Florida Department of Health to a lab in
Jacksonville. Bellamy said initial tests by TFD's hazmat team tested
negative for explosives.

"We didn't find any substance at all there doesn't seem to be anything there," said Bellamy. He added, "The Department of Health does feel very confident that there is no substance there. They're just taking all precautions."

After the six employees were cleared for release, the evacuation order was lifted, and the building was reopened at 1 p.m.